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Monday, June 12, 2017

Yankees Pass Tough AL East Test, Lead Division By 4

So, that 13-game crucial stretch against AL East teams? The Yankees went 8-5. Yes, they did!

They entered the stretch with a three-game lead in the division. By the time the Red Sox came to town last week it was down to two. People were starting to worry. But, after another terrible Tanaka outing, the Yankees seemed to say, "It's time to go." And "go" they did, led by...well, you could point to a lot of guys. Everyone seemed step it up during the last five games of the stretch. They now have a four-game lead in the AL East.

I'm happiest about what Gary Sanchez did. After being moved down to sixth in the lineup, he has awakened and shown signs of that dream streak he was on late last season. He has also done a good job behind the plate. I guess it does take some time for certain players to get going again after injury. Although, don't tell Didi Gregorius that!

Then there is that man, again. Yes, THAT MAN. When I was a young fan watching games being played at the old Yankee Stadium, announcers would always remark about how almost no one ever hit balls into the left field bleachers. Hitting one clear OVER the bleaches was absolutely unheard of. But, as you know, that's what Aaron Judge did yesterday. The ball traveled 495 feet, the longest ball hit so far this season. Overall, Judge was 4-4 with 2HR, 3RBI, 4R, 1BB. All rise, indeed.

The west coast trip starts tonight in Anaheim. I won't be watching more than a couple of innings each night, if I can stay awake even for that.

Travel Duds
Since when did the Yankees stop wearing suits while traveling? Yesterday, after the game, Didi posted this picture on his Instagram account:

It's Matt Holliday and Aaron Judge wearing the same shirt! I first noticed the shirt during the YES postgame show, when Judge was interviewed in front of his locker. It looked like a pajama top from that view, and I wondered why the team was doing rookie hazing so soon. Then Judge, himself, said it was a theme-shirt based on the movie The Sandlot.
We later learned that the shirts were sent to them from an online retailer. It's not clear if they were ordered by one or both of them or if they were gifts. In any case, it appears that Judge and Holliday were the only ones wearing the shirts. (Luis Severino posted a shot of himself on Instagram, sitting on the team charter wearing a Louis Vuitton shirt.)

Don't get me wrong. I love the shirts. I just wonder what happened to the suit policy. Perhaps they don't have to wear them on long flights? Whatever. Glad the guys are having so much fun.